The Island
Apollon, 2020
8/10
The meticulous Norwegian prog-rockers Laughing Stock return with a concept album that surrounds the obstacles of living as an adult in today’s often difficult, deranged world.
The title track starts the listen and indeed sounds like an island song with its laid back and serene approach that almost comes off as meditative before bursting into a thick bout of prog-rock, and “That Face” continues the mysterious landscape with a hazy execution that also gets bare with warm keys.
With more than half the songs surpassing the 5 minute mark, Laughing Stock explore a lot of ideas here, including the 10+ minutes of “Vultures, Bats & Reptiles”, where loud guitars and a swirling atmosphere of melody leads into quieter moments with soundbites, while “Canyon Crawlers” remains soft and folk-influenced for its entire duration.
Deeper cuts bring us the dreamy “30 Years”, that ends up in ominous territory near the end, and “Nothing More” exits the listen with a cinematic quality where calculated tension unfolds amid a very creative vision.
Originally self-released in 2018, this version of the album will likely reach more ears due to Apollon’s strong reputation for inventive and exciting music, as Laughing Stock bring bits of Pink Floyd, Brian Eno and Talk Talk to their very unique genre mashing that’s not easy to classify but entirely easy to enjoy.